Caux Round Table Japan (CRT Japan) conducted the 2nd ‘Survey of Supervising Organisations and Registered Support Organisations’ (based on the finalized evaluation methodology). We are pleased to report the results of that survey.

Background
Caux Round Table Japan (hereinafter referred to as ‘CRT Japan’ or ‘We’) conducted the 2nd ‘Survey of Supervising Organisations and Registered Support Organisations’ from 10 December 2025 to 31 January 2026. This survey complies with the ‘Evaluation Methodology‘ established through two meetings with supervising organisations, registered support organisations, companies, and experts. Information regarding the evaluation results can be shared upon mutual agreement between the participating companies and the responding organisations.

Participating Organisations
In November 2025, we called for companies and supervising organisations to participate in the survey on our website. As a result, in December of the same year, we sent URLs for the questionnaire to a total of 8 supervising organisations and registered support organisations, and 4 companies that expressed their intention to participate. Furthermore, with the cooperation of the participating companies in notifying their business partners—supervising organisations and registered support organisations—we ultimately received responses from 22 organisations by the survey deadline at the end of January 2026. Based on these responses, we confirmed the intentions of both the organisations wishing to provide information and the companies wishing to obtain it, resulting in the provision of the responses of 10 organisations to 2 companies. The 22 responding organisations are as follows (in Japanese syllabary and alphabetical order):

• あおば国際協同組合　https://aobakokusai.or.jp/
• あさひねっと協同組合　https://asahinet.org/
• アジアネットワーク協同組合　https://www.asianetwork.or.jp/
• 協同組合アシスト　https://www.assist-tokyo.asia/
• 株式会社ウィルオブ・ワーク　https://willof-work.co.jp/corp/aboutus/
• 関東スタッフ協同組合　https://www.k-staff.jp/
• クイックリサーチ協同組合　https://www.quick-reseach-coop.org/
• 公益社団法人 国際人材革新機構　https://iforce.or.jp/
• ジャパンマリンサービス株式会社　https://www.jms.co.jp/
• 公益財団法人　日中技能者交流センター　http://www.jcsec.or.jp
• 株式会社バイオハーモニー　https://bioharmony.co.jp/
• 株式会社東　https://tokutei-higashi.com/
• 本州・四国ハイウェイ協同組合　http://www.honshihighway.or.jp
• 株式会社マックス　https://www.max-kyujin.com
• 宮城フィッシャリー・フーズ協同組合　https://miyagiffoods.wixsite.com/5032
• 山口県以東機船底曳網漁業協同組合　―
• 株式会社ヤマヤ　―
• 流通産業協同組合　https://ryu-san-kyo.org/
• ARCH plus株式会社/ARCH plus協同組合　https://arch-plus.co.jp/
• 株式会社BREXA CrossBorder　https://crossborder.brexa.com/
• 株式会社JAYAインドネシア　―
• ＶＮサポート協同組合　https://vnsupport.info/

 
The participating companies were Ajinomoto Co., Inc., Umios Co., Ltd., Tomoku Co., Ltd., and Ryobi Holdings Co., Ltd.

Evaluation Results
The names and scores of the 6 organisations that received high evaluations are as follows. The responses to Section D from each organisation can be viewed by clicking on their respective names (available in Japanese only). The maximum score was 48 points (*), the highest score was 34.1 points, and the average score for all 22 organisations was 19.1 points.
*Initially, the maximum score was planned to be 50 points, but due to an error in our questionnaire, Question C-3 could not be evaluated. Therefore, the 2 points allocated to it were removed, resulting in a maximum score of 48 points.

 
There was a total of 21 questions consisting of Sections A (Feedback on the seminar lessons), B (Company profile), C (Business scale, operational criteria, and staff-to-workers ratio), and D (Human rights initiatives, fair recruitment, and grievance mechanisms), of which 17 are evaluated. The average percentage of points scored by all 22 organisations and the top 6 organisations exceeded 70% in Question C-5 (Method and frequency of regular interviews) and Question D-5 (Awareness of the Dhaka Principles), excluding Question D-3 (Specific initiatives for respecting human rights), with many organisations receiving high scores. On the other hand, Question A (Feedback on the seminar lessons) and Question D-1 (Philosophy and Human Rights Policy) remained below 50%. In Question D-3, while Question D-3-2 (Explanation of Job Duties) was high at 65%, all other items remained below 50%. In particular, Question D-3-3 (Explanation of Human and Labour Rights) and Question D-3-6 (Effective Response to Grievances) fell below 20%.

The difference between all 22 organisations and the top 6 organisations was particularly notable in Question C-1 (Standards for assigning to employer sites), Question C-4 (Upper limit or guideline per staff), Question D-3-7 (Human Rights Awareness for Staff), and Question D-4 (Awareness of the UNGPs). The magnitude of differences in these areas suggests that the initiatives of the top organisations are highly insightful for others and can serve as a guide for future efforts.

For details of the results, please refer to here.

Message from our executive director
 
We have conducted this survey based on the evaluation methodology developed with the cooperation of supervising organisations, registered support organisations, and companies. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all 22 organisations that provided their responses. The responses received strongly conveyed the on-the-ground reality of those sincerely committed to improving the recruitment and employment environment for technical intern trainees and specified skilled workers. On the other hand, there would be cases where excellent activities did not lead to appropriate evaluations (scores) because the responses provided did not align with the response format or the intent of the questions. To help respondents provide information in the required format, we recognise the importance of explaining the intent behind our questions more thoroughly. Going forward, we plan to enhance the explanations of the questions’ intent and provide clearer guidance on how to respond, ensuring that their actual practices can be accurately evaluated and reflected.
Ahead of the transition from the Technical Intern Training Programme to the ‘Training and Employment Programme’ (Ikusei Shuro), interest in the career development and human rights protection of foreign workers, as well as proper support systems, has never been higher. By making these ‘good practices’ visible, we hope that supervising organisations and registered support organisations will utilise them as a guide to advance their own activities, and that host companies will use them as a valuable indicator when selecting reliable partners. We will continue to strive so that this initiative contributes to reducing human rights risks and implementing human rights due diligence within each company.
 
Hiroshi Ishida, Executive Director, Caux Round Table Japan
 

We have received comments regarding this initiative.
 
The CRT Japan’s ‘Survey of Supervising Organisations and Registered Support Organisations’ is a uniquely valuable study, as there are no other similar examples of evaluating these organisations with an emphasis on respect for human rights. This 2nd survey is highly significant because it takes the awareness of the ‘connection between international norms and on-site practices’ shown in the previous survey a step further, providing a more multi-dimensional visualization of the quality of specific practices by supervising and registered support organisations and their variations. In particular, clarifying which areas have implemented human rights considerations and which areas retain structural issues—throughout the entire process from recruitment and hiring to post-arrival daily life support, grievance handling, and remediation—provides crucial implications for both system design and operation.
At the same time, the need for a unified evaluation framework based on consistency with international standards, such as the UN Guiding Principles and the Dhaka Principles, was reaffirmed. Moving forward, based on the insights gained from this survey, it is required to elevate the practices of each entity from mere ‘good practices’ into reproducible standards.

Through this project, we hope that societal perspectives on the quality of supervising organisations and registered support organisations, as well as the organisations’ own awareness and attitudes towards information disclosure, will increase. We expect that as the transparency of selection and evaluation improves, discussions toward realizing responsible ethical recruitment and sustainable, appropriate acceptance will deepen.

Shoichiro Ikebe, Executive Officer, Worlding Inc.

 
Enquiries
For any enquiries in English or Japanese on this survey, please contact Caux Round Table Japan at info@crt-japan.jp.